Coyotes pick up CMAC win

Manuel Guillen/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Marcos Ramos rises up to put down one of his 14 kills in a three-set victory over Edison on Thursday.

The Madera Coyotes boys volleyball team showed a glimpse of how good they can be in a three-set victory over the Edison-Fresno Tigers in Joe Flores Gym.

The Coyotes picked up a 25-10 win in the first set that saw them dominate from the first serve.

“That was the team that we expect, but not the team that shows up all the time,” head coach Rhonda Jefferson said. “We came out ready to play.”

However, Edison came back to battle the Coyotes tough. The Coyotes defeated the Tigers 25-22 in the second set and closed out the third set 26-24 Thursday.

“Edison started to play better and started to pass better to get their offense going,” Jefferson said. “We were able to get the hit when we needed to.”

Brian Garcia led the Coyotes with 17 kills. He also had 15 assists and six digs. Marcos Ramos put down 14 kills. Hunter Brown added seven kills.

The key to the match was Madera’s passing. Jose Hordaz led the Coyotes with 21 digs. Seth Valencia added seven digs.

“Passing is what got us through tonight,” Jefferson said. “We did well until the third game. Luckily Brian is at the net to pull it back. He saved us a couple of times with setting.”

Also, the setting of Garcia and Ribhi Abdallah kept hitters involved. They combined for 32 assists.
“The setters did a great job of sharing the ball tonight,” Jefferson said. “Ribhi and Brian mixed it up a lot.”

The Coyotes jumped out to a 4-1 first set lead behind kills from Brown and Ramos and a solo block by Chandler Fowler.

Ramos kept the pressure on Edison with a pair of side out kills. Garcia put down two kills for an 8-4 Madera lead. Valencia served an ace and Brown put down a kill during a five-point run and a 12-4 lead.

After eight straight side outs, Fowler served up four points, including an ace for a 20-7 lead. Ramos put down a side out kill and Garcia added another to increase the lead to 13.

Garcia put down a side out kill. Fowler added another and Garcia and Ali Escheik combined on a dual block for the 25-10 first set win.

In the second set, a Garcia solo block led to a 6-5 Coyote lead. However, Edison kept the set close despite two Garcia side out kills. A pair of Brown kills led to an 11-9 lead.

The Tigers eventually took a 15-14 lead. A Garcia side out kill tied the set. He added another kill and Edison hit three balls out of bounds for a 19-15 Coyote lead.

After a Ramos side out kill, Angel Guillen served an ace for set point. Edison got the side out and scored a point before Ramos ended the set with a kill for a 25-22 win.

In the third set, Hordaz served up three points for an 8-6 lead, but Edison scored three points back to take a 9-8 lead.

A Garcia side out kill tied the set and Ramos gave Madera an 10-9 lead with a kill. Ramos put down two kills and Garcia added another for a 15-14 Coyote lead.

Garcia put down two side out kills, but Edison still held an 18-17 lead. The Coyotes scored two straight points to jump to a 19-18 lead.

However, Edison took a 23-21 lead despite a Hordaz kill off an overpass. Garcia put down two straight kills to tie the set at 23.

Edison got the side out for set point, but a service error tied the set at 24. Hordaz recorded an ace to get to match point. Edison hit into the met and Madera won the match after a
26-24 third set win.